Hard Rain (live album) by Bob Dylan
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Bob Dylan bestography
Hard Rain is ranked 42nd best out of 79 albums by Bob Dylan on BestEverAlbums.com.
The best album by Bob Dylan is Highway 61 Revisited which is ranked number 27 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 27,926.
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Hard Rain track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 77 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
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Hard Rain rankings
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Hard Rain collection
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Hard Rain ratings
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n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
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Showing latest 5 ratings for this album. | Show all 118 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
60/100  | 05/21/2025 08:51 |  Liedzeit | | 74/100 |
80/100 | 05/04/2025 12:36 | mostlymor | | 79/100 |
70/100 | 03/18/2025 21:04 |  NowhereMan | | 78/100 |
70/100 | 02/11/2025 16:23 | jokerman1965 | | 83/100 |
80/100 | 01/18/2025 18:45 |  imimesis | | 81/100 |
Rating metrics:
Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some albums can have several thousand ratings)
This album has a Bayesian average rating of 71.4/100, a mean average of 69.8/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 71.3/100. The standard deviation for this album is 17.8.
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Hard Rain comments
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A fair summary of Dylan's "Rolling Thunder Review' concert series....nothing more, nothing less.
What a god awful racket. I love Dylan, but this is terrible. The Bootleg series edition from the same tour, or at least another part of it, is far superior, but Dylan never been great when it comes to live albums. Sounds like it was recorded in a corrugated iron tent in a rainstorm.
It's nice to hear Dylan's later takes on some of his classic material. Some work, others don't. You know he got tired doing the same old songs in the same old way. It's not a must have album though.
Decent live album that seems a little incomplete as it's only a portion of the show. Lacks fire on some of the performances.
Mercury 01/05/2014 16:02
4 January 2014
"Hard Rain" is a somewhat up and down affair. Thankfully the ups outweigh the downs. The points that come across as tired or lacking vitality are not many but they are there. I feel this on "I Threw It All Away" and somewhat on "You're A Big Girl Now" specifically in Dylan's vocals on there. And I just generally don't care too much for "Maggie's Farm" and the version here is no exception.
There are also a lot of real highs on here. The run in the middle of the record from "Stuck Inside Of Mobile" to "Oh Sister" to "Lay lady Lay" is just triumphant! This version of "Oh Sister" features the band in top form. They really managed to capture that same beautiful mystery contained in "Desire" live. I actually think the version here may be better than the studio version.
And the harmonies and the funky feel of "Lay Lady Lay" and "Stuck Inside Of Mobile" is pretty much as good as it gets.
The instrumental work on "Shelter From The Storm" and especially the killer guitar is great. The vocals drop the ball a bit, but what can ya do. And the lush and spot-on playing on "You're A Big Girl Now" is another real standout.
The final track "Idiot Wind" feels like it lacks a certain fire and energy and this drags. Bummer it has to end in a low note there.
Overall this is a solid live document. The main issue is it doesn't feel like it's fresh and new for large sections here. The recordings here were from the very end of that brilliant but exhausting "Rolling Thunder Revue" tour. So that may account for some of the lack of vitality I hear in Dylan and the band.
Another problem is that now that Bootleg Series 5 "The Rolling Thunder Revue" has been released, this album is sort of an afterthought and not the definitive live representation of this era of live music for Dylan.
Still, it's pretty good.
Grade: 75/100
ffudnebbuh 08/26/2011 17:49
One of my fav Dylan albums. A great live album.. My fav version of "I through it all away".
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